Page 19 - Tree Line - North Carolina Forestry Association - First Quarter 2024

This article on Dr. Hain is part one of a two-part series. In the next issue of TreeLine, Part 2 will explore the collaboration between the Forest Restoration Alliance, the Hemlock Restoration Initiative, North Carolina State University, and the North Carolina Forest Service to restore native hemlock populations.
By Caroline Lord, Outreach and Communications Manager, Hemlock Restoration Initiative
Dr. Fred Hain was a forest entomologist for 37 years. As a faculty member in the Department of
Entomology at North Carolina State University (NCSU), Dr. Hain spent a lot of time studying invasive insects, and he ultimately decided that he wanted to help save certain tree species harmed by those insects.
Dr. Hain made important contributions to the research and management of several forest pests, in particular conifer pests such as the southern pine beetle. But adelgids were his specialty. Through his work, Dr. Hain became one of the leading authorities on the management
of balsam woolly adelgid impacts
on Fraser fir in natural stands and Christmas tree plantations in North
Carolina. His sights were always set on developing long-term, sustainable management options to save trees from these pests.
In the late 1990s, Dr. Hain noticed hemlock trees dying from hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA) infestations. The invasive insect first arrived on
an ornamental Southern Japanese hemlock tree destined for a garden
in Richmond, VA. The tiny insects have spread, destroying hemlocks throughout the eastern United States, and more recently parts of Ontario and Nova Scotia. Dr. Hain brought together researchers from the National Arboretum and the USDA Forest Service to help find ways to save
the eastern and Carolina hemlock populations affected by HWA. In 2007, he formed what is now known as the Forest Restoration Alliance
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